eBay

quadcitypickers · ‎07-21-2019

Since there is already one thread about Goodwill and re-selling, I'd figure I'd put one up that shows a little bit more inside info.

These are some insider and some public bits of info I got from talking to goodwill employees, reading accounts of employees as well as news articles about them in the past.

1. Goodwill often pays disabled people below minimum wage.

Some people defend this stating "they are basically babysitting them", but that is really beyond the point.

Goodwill gets all of it's stuff for FREE.

So their income has no "cost of good sold" line item unlike regular retail stores.

If you buy a $7 shirt at TjMaxx, the margin is probably 30 percent or so, their cost was probably $4-$5.

T shirts here are $3.88, which means they have a higher margin than TJMaxx.

If you look at precious metals, like gold and silver, they have sold on their own auction site (Shopgoodwill) for hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars. A jewelry store makes less money even though their margin can be as high as 50-60%.

Therefore, it is inexcusable to not pay disabled people aluminum wage, and while some may disagree, it's very dehumanizing as well as exploitative.

2. They have a dollar amount to price each day.

Stemming from the gross incompetency of modern management, Goodwill like other places is all about numbers. How the numbers are achieved are irrelevant. Good numbers make managers look good, even though the reality can be way off.

Say for example a store has to price $1500 worth of inventory each day. This number can be higher or lower depending on the size of the store and foot traffic.

Towards the end of the inventory they have, if they are a few hundred dollars short, they will mark up remaining items higher. A normally 99 cent widget will now be $6.88, a $20 item in the showcase will now be $50.88.

Underperforming stores will see higher prices due to less being bought, and thus less to stock. This explains why some goodwills are highly overpriced compared to others. It makes no sense, but again, it's all about the numbers.

3. A lot of stuff never makes it to the shelves.

Depending on the area, certain items will never, ever be put out. They will be put into bins to send off to their own auction site (shopgoodwill). Some regional GW's even have their own eBay page.

What gets sent depends on what it is, how much it is worth, and other factors as well.

You will rarely see gold jewelry at a goodwill. If so, it was something missed. Some stores are better about it than others. Your probably thinking...people donate gold jewelry worth hundreds? Yes..in fact when I posted this, there were over 3,300 pieces of gold jewelry on their auction website.

gamersbaystore · ‎07-22-2019

Goodwill is far from good! They are America's biggest non-profit scam. They take in billions of dollars each year, which is supposed to be used to create jobs and help low-income individuals with free job training, which never happens.

One of their executives here in St Louis was charged and arrested for child abuse this past year, not surprised.

Likewise, Goodwill is now a worthless place to find anything to sell on ebay, since all the best items are sold on their own auction site now, and the accounts they hold on ebay. The stores just get the left over scraps and junk that no one wants.

Here's their online shop, practically a mirror of ebay: https://www.shopgoodwill.com/

They rake in money hand over fist, then it magically disappears.

m60driver · ‎07-22-2019

I still find good deals for resale in the Goodwill outlet bin stores. I am rather picky and only find a few items at most each visit so I only stop by if I am in the area for some other purpose.

And they do basic job training for those with no clue and no skills. Some even move up within Goodwill. But one has to start somewhere and retail has always been an entry level position, whether at Goodwill or elsewhere. The elsewheres usually will not give a chance to those who Goodwill hires.

As far as executive compensation, is there a major corporation in America that does not have a grossly overpaid CEO? If you don't like the current neo-feudal economy then don't vote for those who are willing to put on their knee pads on for corporate CEOs and give them more tax cuts.

kim_y_buran · ‎07-23-2019

@m60driver wrote:
a grossly overpaid CEO

That's actually just a bunch of lies that earned its own entry on Snopes. What they did is they took their tax filings, looked up the line for total executive compensation, $2.3M , said that it is CEO's salary and ran with it.

stickboy1974 · ‎07-23-2019

I talked to a friend who does flea markets. He had an old tablecloth that he sold to another dealer for $1.00 who then promptly marked it to $12.00 and it was sold later that day.

I asked him if he was mad, and he said "No, why would I be ? I got the price I was asking for"

reallynicestamps · ‎07-23-2019

@stickboy1974

. We did this because of the prices that our Goodwill charge. A person who needs that type of stuff should not have to pay their prices.

The prices at Goodwill and other thrifts are not what they charge "the deserving poor".

My girlfriend needed to set up a new household after her abusive husband got out of jail because he knew her address. Her priest gave her a letter that she took to various thrifts, including Goodwill, and was able to clothe her kids for the winter and get usable furniture free.

I've also known people to be given new clothes as a job hunting wardrobe again free, with a letter from a parole officer.

Having run B&M businesses, the cost of the goods is just the start of the costs of the business.

There's rent, utilities, payroll taxes, payroll, insurance, business taxes (sometimes but not always reduced for charities), dump fees, maintenance on vehicles and other equipment (ever seen a fabric baler), snow clearance, and garbage pickup.

All of which have to be covered before anything goes out on the floor for sale.

And here's that Snopes article mentioned above.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/executive-salaries-charities/

clearsphere · ‎07-24-2019

RC is a PR machine.

coolections · ‎07-24-2019

@quadcitypickers

I vote true for all three 1., 2, and 3, and THAT is how they SHOULD be running their business. No need to pay more than minimum wage. It is more of a training and social thing for those workers in need. They need to make profit so setting a quota is a good thing. And lastly, definitely put the best stuff on social media for auctions to make the most profit instead of a reseller snagging something for $1 and the reselling making 300% profit.

johnrj1226 · ‎07-24-2019

@reallynicestamps wrote:
@stickboy1974
. We did this because of the prices that our Goodwill charge. A person who needs that type of stuff should not have to pay their prices.

The prices at Goodwill and other thrifts are not what they charge "the deserving poor".
My girlfriend needed to set up a new household after her abusive husband got out of jail because he knew her address. Her priest gave her a letter that she took to various thrifts, including Goodwill, and was able to clothe her kids for the winter and get usable furniture free.
I've also known people to be given new clothes as a job hunting wardrobe again free, with a letter from a parole officer.

Having run B&M businesses, the cost of the goods is just the start of the costs of the business.
There's rent, utilities, payroll taxes, payroll, insurance, business taxes (sometimes but not always reduced for charities), dump fees, maintenance on vehicles and other equipment (ever seen a fabric baler), snow clearance, and garbage pickup.
All of which have to be covered before anything goes out on the floor for sale.

And here's that Snopes article mentioned above.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/executive-salaries-charities/

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upgradedendmills · ‎07-24-2019

1.) This is probably not the proper place to be tearing apart Goodwill business practices.

2.) Your "inside" information seems to have come to you second hand from disgruntled employees with no input from those that are being helped or are happy at Goodwill.

3.)The root of your complaints seems to be that Goodwill practices don't allow you buy things there that allow you to resell on eBay at large markups and profit margins.

4.) If you go to a yard sale and find a $500 resale item for $1, do you list it for $2 because 100% is a reasonable markup, or do you try to get $500 for it?

5.) Have you ever considered seeking out disadvantaged people and making an outright donation or finding an actual charity that does good deeds to donate to?

6.) How much of your eBay profits do you automatically donate to charity?

kim_y_buran · ‎07-24-2019

@coolections wrote:
No need to pay more than minimum wage.

One thing to remember, and this also holds true for the whole national $15/h debate, is that low wages keep people eligible for the government benefits, particularly Medicaid. Basically, $10/h + Medicaid, SNAP and so on take you much farther than $15/h + $250/month Obamacare plan + copays, + $5000 deductible + drug costs.

albany_sellers · ‎07-24-2019

@luckythewinner wrote:
If you've been reading up on Goodwill, thm I'm sure you also know that:

1) Goodwill is a nonprofit
2) Their primary mission is to provide job training to people with barriers to employment, not to sell retail items
3) The disabled workers who are paid less than minimum wage (legally, under the Fair Labor Standard Act) account for about 7% of their workforce
4) The fact that they maximize the income from valuable items (rather than selling them off cheaply to eBay resellers) is actually a good thing

1) Goodwill masquerades as a non profit. They just have a good PR campaign
2) That is their STATED mission, however what it amounts to is maybe looking over a resume and handing out a list of people who are hiring. In my district they do "Job Fairs" that are nothing but them trying to replace their own employees whom they ran off with their horrid management. I used to work for them as a department head, and the only job training i saw was employees who were not swamped with work getting the privilege of watching a slideshow from the 1980's about how to not be rude to customers. It's a joke and a sham.
3) In this district, they don't even pretend to care about employing the disabled, they discontinued it, but left up all the posters of the disabled people to give the impression they still employee them.
4) They are not maximizing anything, they are hemorrhaging money by overpricing everything. This is not about them selling a $1,000 ring for $1,000, nobody could be mad at them for that. This is about them charging ludicrous prices for things that only a reseller would even care about, things that the general public couldn't care any less about. They charge $40 for something that a regular shopper wouldn't pay 3 bucks for and make it so that the flippers ignore it as well. In the end, it goes to the bins to be sold by the pound for maybe 50 cents when they could have made $10 on it in their store if they did not get so greedy.